Star Trek: Bendross
Episode #01 "Good Morning!"
(Summer, 2072)
By
And
The Bendross Players
Reveille came, as it always does, far, far too early in the morning. Hamilton Ashby jerked awake, and with primitive reactions drilled in by training, began to move. Up, out of bed. Where are my pants? These look right. If not, too bad for the guy who just lost his pants. Shoes, shirt. Hamilton struggled knowing that he only had a few precious seconds before the drill instructor came in and started everyone off on their training day, regardless of how ready they were. Hamilton got himself mostly together and blearily fell in on the line right in front of his bunk.
"What was I drinking last night?" Hamilton asked himself. He was massively hung over and filled with a sense of dread. If the DI figured out that he had been drinking last night, then that would mean more push-ups just to make the headache worse. And it was bad enough already.
Hamilton noticed that the class was co-ed, with mixed sexes. That wasn't usual. He idly checked out the women in his field of view. He'd see much, much more of them as training wore on.
Across the aisle and several bunks up, Hamilton spotted what could only be a Marine. He was in full uniform with shined boots and freshly scrubbed look about him that said. "I love this." Only Marines were insane in that particular way.
The drill instructor came in and Hamilton winced. He was a wiry old man with a bounce in his step. He looked over his new recruits with an obvious sense of distaste. "Fall in outside!" The DI Yelled.
Hamilton and the Marine were the first to move. The DI had to encourage the stragglers. "I don't care if you have your shoes on! Move! Do you think I have never seen a soft pink derriere before? Get outside!"
The recruits lined up on a painted line on the ground outside the barracks. Hamilton noted that the air was warm and dry. California air, perhaps somewhere near Mojave. That would make de-toxing from his most recent drunk fun.
The DI Came and stood in front of the recruits. He grinned, a sight that Hamilton found disquieting. "Welcome to the High Frontiers colonization training program!" The DI Announced. Hamilton felt certain that he could have heard the man's voice in San Diego, half the state away.
"You are colonists from the Bendross III Project! You are Intelligent, competent people, chosen from among million of applicants as the best Humanity has to offer!" The DI yelled. "BULLSHIT! I am here to disabuse you of that false and deadly notion! You are the weak, soft, whiny children of an over urbanized civilization in decay! There are an infinite number of ways to die on an uncharted planet! You will die in screaming hordes!"
The DI strutted up and down the row sneering at his recruits. "You are the products of millions of years of evolution and natural selection. Hard to believe but it's true. You city bred pansies are out of touch with your instincts. My job is to put you back in touch with those instincts. To train you how to use the tools God gave you to survive!"
He pointed at one of the recruits. "When a Jabberwocky eats your best friend, you will know what to do!" He pointed to another "When your lover falls over puking and shitting her life away, you'll know what to do! You will not stand there with a stupid look on your face and whine about unfair life is!"
He stood straight. "I am Sergeant Blume! I am your lifeline to survival!"
About then enough of Hamilton's brain came back on line for him to think to himself "I don't remember enlisting in this!"
-*-
It was later that day. Hamilton was soaked with foul smelling sweat and was hurting on pretty much every level he had. Paramilitary basic training was fighting it out with alcoholism and winning, but not without a fight. Hamilton was being educated about exactly how much he'd let himself go since his previous stint in the service. Right now, the rest of his company was sprawled out on the ground, honoring the old military tradition, Smoke 'em if you got 'em.
Hamilton was queebing for a cigarette, too but didn't have any. Hamilton was on another mission. He reached the pay phone. He dialed in a number and sent the call collect. "State your name" The computer said.
Hamilton looked directly into the camera and said "Clyde Tombaugh."
A few moments later a man with a very narrow face came on the line. "Clyde! Where the hell are you?"
"I dunno Mark, Listen, I-"
"Never mind that now, what was the shit you downloaded to me? I can't break the encryption, and I have operators in black suits crawling around here like you wouldn't believe!" Mark said.
Hamilton blinked. Had he downloaded anything to Mark recently? He couldn't remember.
He faked it. "I can't tell you that right now. I just you to get me out of here. I at something called the High Frontier Colonization-" The phone line cut out.
Hamilton exited the phone booth and walked away. Some one knew where he was already. That was probably a bad thing.
Hamilton looked thoughtfully at the company of recruits on the ground, and the DI waiting until they were just getting comfortable before calling them back into training for the day.
Hamilton could think of places he'd much rather be to lay low in, but beggars can't be choosers. Basic training seemed like the last place anyone who knew him would look.
[To be Continued]
Disclaimer: Paramount owns all things Trek. I claim original characters and situations in this story for me.